West Acres residents come to the rescue of robbed woman

MBOMBELA - A local woman was left shaken but unharmed after a man had allegedly stolen her cellphone as she was walking along a road in West Acres on Sunday evening, August 14.

The woman, who spoke to Lowvelder on condition of anonymity, said she had walked to a shop that evening, and it was upon her return that the incident occurred.

She was walking along Percy Fitzpatrick Drive and turned in to Orange Street when she noticed a man keeping pace with her on the opposite side of the road.

“It was just before the sun started setting. I noticed the guy walking slightly behind me on the opposite side of the road. The next minute, he was right beside me. He was holding something in one of his hands and mumbled something to me, although I couldn’t make out what he said,” said the woman.

“He then slipped his hand into my pocket and grabbed my phone, and I immediately started screaming.”

She said everything happened so quickly it felt like a blur, but after she screamed, she saw a woman passing by in her car slightly knock the thief.

“I also heard a few gunshots go off from a nearby house,” she said.

The gunshots, however, were reportedly from an air rifle owned by a neighbour who had heard the commotion and fired warning shots to scare the alleged thief off.

The woman said she suspected there were two men involved, as another man just ahead of her had run off with the man who grabbed her phone after the passer-by had bumped him with her car.

“I am so grateful for the community and their assistance. I was amazed by how quickly everyone reacted,” she said.

The woman said she would be opening a case with the police soon, once she had received CCTV footage that shows the man following her.